Archive for the ‘Harry Potter Reread’ Category

Hey folks! Things are a tad bit busy in both Jess’s and my lives at the moment, so we’re putting a brief pause on the HP reread until we both have time to dive back into the books and give them the attention we’d like to. (Don’t worry, we definitely plan to continue a little bit down the line — Prisoner of Azkaban is both of our favorites, in fact, so we’re looking forward to it as soon as our schedules are cleared up a bit.)

We continue our reread with chapters 11-15 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, wherein Harry encounters his first example of a patently evil book that he trusts implicitly over the advice of his loved ones and the adults entrusted with his protection. Harry’s not the best at learning from his mistakes, is what I’m getting at here.

Comment here on chapters 6-10 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, wherein Harry starts hearing a disturbing voice threatening to murder people, but doesn’t see any reason that might be important to report to an authority figure.

We’re back after a brief hiatus. Comment here on chapters 16 and17 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone, in which Harry and company learn, for the first time, that Voldemort’s favorite time to attack is finals week.

Chapters 11-15 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone, in which Harry plays quidditch, celebrates Christmas, does quite a bit of snooping, and serves detention with his rag-tag band. Somehow, detention was not scored with “Don’t You Forget About Me.”

Chapters 6-10 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone, in which Harry heads off to Hogwarts, meets Ron(!) and Hermione(!), has an unpleasant encounter with Snape, flies for the first time, and fights a troll. Just like my first week of middle school!

Chapters 1-5 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone, in which we meet Harry Potter and his unpleasant adoptive family, and Harry meets Hagrid, discovers the hidden truth about his parents, and goes on the greatest birthday shopping spree of all time.

There has been something in the air this month. Or, to be more precise, there has been something on every subway poster, in every commercial break, and all over the entire internet, and it’s this: HARRY POTTER HAS ENDED. The last movie came out, and whoops, we here at AV haven’t seen it yet, but with this feeling of finality all around, we found ourselves with a nostalgic urge to go back to the beginning. Thus, we bring you The Great Harry Potter Reread of 2011.

Our plan is this: every Monday, we’ll put up a post for a five-chapter chunk. We’ll add our thoughts in the comments as we have them over the course of the week — and of course, we hope you all will, too.

Please keep in mind that our comments policy is still in effect. And let’s face it, this is Harry Potter. Emotions run very high. (Seriously, I have been known to shank people who hate on Ron. Orrrr at least I’ve been known to want to shank people who hate on Ron.) Every character is someone’s favorite, up to and including the giant squid; so, while critical analysis is always welcome (and oh boy do we have plenty to say about a certain Potions Master), character hate is not. The same goes for shipping. Discussing why you ship what you do is totally cool! Hating on other pairings is not.

Please also keep in mind, this is a reread for us. People who are new to the series are also welcome! You know, if they exist on the internet. But we may reference later books as we read through, so spoilers will abound.

Okay? Okay! Join us Monday as we begin the first book in this beloved series, The Adventures of Neville Longbottom, Total BadassWhen Ron Met HermioneEvil Has No NoseHarry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone.